I've been a copywriter for years, but Ive only dealt with DP clients for a few weeks. I've accepted a large project here in DP. Basically, I was supposed to work on 200 articles for three weeks. He paid $100 as down payment, so I started to work on the project. I e-mailed the client a couple of times to update him about the work - things like when ill be finished, if my submission will be delayed for a day or two, etc. I received replies from him every time I gave updates.. and he even e-mailed me a couple of times asking about the project. I've submitted the first 100 articles and I'm waiting for an acknowledgment of receipt. It has been 3 days and no acknowledgement or payment for the first 100 has been made. I've finished the other 100 articles, but I wish to get paid first before I send out the last batch. Am I wrong to do this? I'm normally trustworthy with new clients, but I feel i'm becoming paranoid of getting ripped off. If he hasn't been online for the last couple of days, then he hasn't checked his mail and there's still hope. Anyway, my question to you fellow copywriters is: How much down payment is fair to both the client and us (copywriters)? Is 50% down payment enough? When a client doesn't contact you after submitting work, how much time do you give him to clear payments.. before you sell the content to other clients? When a client has not paid for a writing job, do we still have rights to the content even if we submitted the job to the client? What terms and payment agreement should follow before accepting writing jobs? Please clear my mind Thanks
I usually do 50-100% down with the remainder due upon acceptance. As far as I'm concerned the work belongs to me until payment is received in full. I would give a client at least 7-10 days to rule out any emergencies or excused absences on his end. Be sure to offer fair warning as well.
got to agree with internetauthor tend to always ask for 50% up front or 100% for new clients. tends to cheese prospects off but the way i see it if they are not willing to pay the deposit then would they pay anyway and do i need this type of business. i would also state that ownership is yours until you have cleared funds. there could be a reason for the delays though! Kind Regards Stephen Doyle email: web: ccuk-ltd.com Killer Copy Writing Super Human Sales Training Direct Marketing
Thanks for the feedback, i really appreciate them. Regarding ownership of the articles, how could I prove that those articles are really mine if I have already given him a copy? Can I still sell them to other clients?
1. You're not a copywriter; you're a content writer. 2. If you're concerned about new clients, don't take bulk orders up front. Even though it's not a big project payment-wise, it's a big project quantity-wise, meaning a big investment from you. Offer to do a few paid as a "test" up front, and then you'll have a better feel for the client, and they'll have a better feel for your work. 3. I don't think a 3 or so day delay is anything at all with a project like you're describing. Most buyers on DP are going to check your work to make sure it's not duplicate or simple someone else's articles rewritten. For 100 articles, it's going to take them some time depending on how thoroughly they check. 4. As for downpayments, other than a certain type of writing that I allow people to pay for upon completion, I require full payment up front for very small projects (generally under $100), 50% up front for anything from there to up around $2000 or so, and anything larger than that I'll break into more payments if they request it (usually for consulting services rather than writing at those levels). There's absolutely nothing wrong with asking for a deposit up front with new clients. You have as much to lose as they do. 5. Most of my work is business copywriting rather than content writing, so it's not the kind of thing I can simply sell to another client. I've only had one client vanish without payment, and it was so small that I simply sent a few reminders (they actually finally got in touch again, so we'll see if it works out). Other than that, I'd simply take it to small claims court if a problem arose and it was an option. In your case, if it's contracted as a work for hire, you may not be able to simply go and resell them because of a delay. Check your contract. And if you don't have one for an order of that size, make it a learning experience for the next time. If you don't have a contracted set of payment terms, he really isn't "late" at all technically.
Its is always better to take 50% down payment. I feel thats a fair bargain for both the seller and the buyer and it's always better to not accept bulk orders from a new client.. work for a few small test projects.. and then when you are confident abt the buyer.. you can move on with larger projects...
yeah, you should ask for 50% advance and second think your article quality should be excellent. If you can paste a sample article written by you for the same client then we will judge you better because not always clients are in fault. Please do paste a part of your article so that people can see who is in fault.
Fortunately, I experienced a technical difficulty. (My e-mail didn't receive any of my client's messages and I have no idea why) My work has been paid and given a downpayment for the next batch Thank you all for your help. I will keep your advices in mind when I transact with a new client in the future.
gypsy, it happened to me too -- my clients' emails get thrown into the Spam folder and I have no idea why. It's good that you've been paid. Good luck!